Zhang Weili is no longer the UFC strawweight champion.
In a blockbuster bit of news announced by Dana White on Thursday, Zhang has officially vacated her 115-pound title and is moving up to challenge reigning flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko. The top P4P female fighters in the world will square off inside the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, at UFC 322 on Saturday, November 15.
After handily defeating Tatiana Suarez in February, Zhang expressed interest in moving up, believing she’d accomplished everything she set out to in the strawweight division. Now, ‘Magnum’ will get her wish when she co-main events one of the biggest fight cards of the year against one of the greatest female fighters the sport has ever seen.
Shevchenko goes into the bout coming off a stellar showing against Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 in May. It was her first defense since kickstarting her second reign as flyweight champion. ‘Bullet’ reclaimed the crown late last year, defeating Alexa Grasso in a trilogy bout at Sphere in Las Vegas.
White Announces fight to crown new strawweight champion
As for the future of the strawweight title, fans won’t have to wait long to see a new champion rise.
White also revealed that on October 25, Mackenzie Dern will face top-ranked contender Virna Jandiroba at UFC 321, the winner leaving as the new face of the 115-pound division.
Dern vs. Jandiroba will serve as a rematch of the pair’s December 2022 clash at UFC 256. On that night, Dern came out on top via unanimous decision. Since then, Jandiroba has gone 6-1 inside the Octagon, including statement victories over Amanda Lemos and Yan Xiaonan.
Dern goes into the bout having won two of her last three, defeating Loopy Godinez and most recently, Amanda Ribas.
